Lazy Sneakers by Joanna Cho is a reflective non-fiction interview text that weaves personal story with community action to explore how one young person’s idea grew into a nationwide project helping others. Through Maia Mariner’s voice, the text explains how noticing friends without suitable shoes for sport inspired her to create a sneaker bank that collects and redistributes footwear to children and families in need. The narrative highlights Maia’s confidence, leadership, and commitment to fairness, while showing how whānau support and cultural values shape her motivation to give back. By sharing moments of doubt, success, and growth, the text demonstrates how small actions can make a powerful difference. Uplifting, accessible, and empowering, the text supports students to understand kindness and responsibility through lived experience and voice.

The text is ideal for integrated learning across literacy, health, and social sciences, supporting inquiry into community service, identity, generosity, and positive action in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This pack contains a range of response activities complete with activity explainer videos for exploring thinking skills and developing emotional understandings and compassionate inquiry including:

• Blooms Higher Order Thinking activities
• Book Club guide for deepening text discussion
• A range of activities to explore emotional understanding, compassionate inquiry, empathy development, vocabulary and developing skills for self and co-regulation.

Curriculum Phase: Phase 2
Year Level: Year 4

English (NZC Levels 2–3): reading for meaning and enjoyment, identifying key ideas and personal viewpoints, understanding interview and report structure, making connections to real-life experiences, exploring dialogue and author purpose

Health and Physical Education: wellbeing, relationships, empathy, confidence, communication, inclusion

Social Sciences – Aotearoa New Zealand Histories: community action, identity and belonging, continuity and change, roles and responsibilities, helping others

Text type: Non-fiction, interview, personal recount, informational text

Key words include: community, donating, family, sneaker bank, volunteering, whānau, kindness, generosity, inclusion, leadership, confidence, identity, belonging, sport, shoes, recycling, reuse, social action, youth leadership, service, fairness, opportunity, teamwork, motivation, positive change